The Oscar nominations have been announced, and I don't much care. It's not so much because I'm an old fart who thinks the movies aren't as good as they used to be (though I'm much more likely to enjoy the experience when watching Turner Classic Movies than I am when watching something new on the premium channels). It's just that "going to the movies" has stopped being one of the things I do. I haven't seen a single one of the nominated movies, and I won't until they come out on DVD or hit one of my cable channels. When that happens, I will like or dislike the move, but it will just be one more digital experience among many, divorced from the year the movie was made and what it was competing with.
But the really good news is that the Oscar awards ceremony may suck so much that no one will bother to watch:
The annual rolling out of the nominees list normally sets the stage for a February full of hugs and kisses as Hollywood's elite pat themselves on the back for a job well done. But writers are shutting down the town's biggest parties to force management back to the negotiating table.
The rushed and tepid Golden Globes "ceremony" was a sure sign that the Oscars presentation could be in trouble, too.
I stopped watching the Oscars show, the most insufferable self-congratulatory orgy in the history of entertainment, long before I stopped going to the movies. Maybe "Casablanca" or some other earlier Oscar winner will be on TCM that night. Treat yourself, if it is.
